West Greene’s Watson wins 100th game, and counting
The West Greene girls basketball team has been one of the most successful programs over the last our seasons, not just in Greene County, but in all of the WPIAL.
Sometimes fate has a funny way of working out.
And who knows, if the Lady Pioneers didn鈥檛 have the right coach on the sidelines where they might be?
Jordan Watson, a West Greene graduate, was asked 13 years ago if he could help out the girls basketball program as an assistant and fate gave him the chance to coach the Lady Pioneers.
鈥淚 was a senior in college (at WVU) and I was going to be student teaching that semester,鈥� he said. 鈥淎 good friend of mine, Johnny Woods, called me up and asked if I could help him out for one year with the girls team. I wasn鈥檛 sure where they were going to put me student teaching-wise, so I initially wasn鈥檛 sure. Luckily, they put me in Greene County, so it was close by. So, I accepted the assistant job.
鈥淚 thought I would do it for maybe one year or so, but then I got hired as a teacher (physical education) at West Greene after I graduated college. I love this community, so I really never wanted to leave this area. I was an assistant under Jim (Romanus) and I guess you can say the rest is history.鈥�
Watson picked up his 100th career coaching win on Dec. 22 with a 74-55 home victory over Wheeling Central Catholic in non-section action.
Watson, who was an assistant coach for five seasons under current boys coach Jim Romanus, took over the head coaching position with the Lady Pioneers in 2011-12. Before their two section games this week against California (Tuesday) and Jefferson-Morgan (Thursday), Watson owned a career record of 106-73.
鈥淲e have been blessed with a lot of talent over the years,鈥� Watson said. 鈥淭he 2012 group had the Raber twins (Madison and Alyssa) and Emily Courtwright as sophomores. They grew up a lot on the court and really set a foundation for this program. Then, this class of seniors now have really elevated the program and they bought into the program right away.鈥�
Before their section match-up with California on Tuesday, the Lady Pioneers had an overall record of 13-1 and are 7-0 in Section 2-A. West Greene is riding a 28-game winning streak in the section that dates back to 2016.
West Greene蘑菇视频 five seniors 鈥� McKenna Lampe, Madison Lampe, Kaitlyn Rizor, Brianna Goodwin and Savannah Pettit 鈥� are also approaching a school record, for both boys and girls, of 71 career wins.
The Lampe twins surpassed 1,000 career points a season ago, and at the beginning of the week Rizor was 32 points shy of the scoring milestone. McKenna Lampe is second all-time behind 1,838 points scored by 2006 graduate Rachel Phillips.
鈥淭hat senior class is just special,鈥� Watson said. 鈥淭hey bring the right demeanor into games and practices. They are unselfish and are just hard workers. Of course, the talent is there, but it蘑菇视频 their dedication and passion they have for this program that sets them apart. They want to win and they want to bring home a WPIAL title.鈥�
West Greene has won the Section 2-A the past two years and is the first Greene County girls basketball team to make to play in the WPIAL championship game and advance to the PIAA playoffs and advance to a WPIAL championship game. The Lady Pioneers are seeking the top seed in Class A this season.
Watson was also quick to praise his assistant coach, Justin Allen.
鈥淚 think Justin has been with me 11 of those 13 years here,鈥� Watson said. 鈥淗e is a great help. He does all the technology stuff and put all of the stats on all the websites. He is the best assistant coach to have. It蘑菇视频 also nice when one of your best friends is your assistant. We talk constantly about basketball.鈥�
West Greene travels to Beth-Center tonight in non-section action. Tip is at 6 p.m.